Currently, the GCC procures US$ 26 billion annually in halal food imports. The CEO of the Islamic Development Economy Development Center in Dubai, Abdullah Al Awar, stated that, “the spread of Islamic sectors such as Islamic banking, halal food, fashion, cosmetics, tourism, and other sectors was no longer a matter just for the Muslim world, but now an international phenomenon.”

Although the OIC Sharjah Halal Congress focused mainly on food products this year, Paldi says the Halal Congress hopes to include other halal industries such as cosmetics, tourism and hospitality, and Islamic finance and banking in the future in order to become a comprehensive halal platform through which exhibitors can showcase their products and services. The Sharjah Expo Center, the location of the Halal Congress, is the oldest expo center in the Middle East with 20,000 sq. meters of exhibition space and state of the art facilities. In addition, the emirate of Sharjah is the Islamic culture capital of the world. Furthermore, the Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan III bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, graces his presence at the annual halal congress every year in a royal exhibit of appreciation for the halal industry.

Recently, the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during its annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, announced that it will work to create a commercial arbitration center for the halal industry with the formulation of rules along the lines of the arbitration rules of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce. In addition, it is imperative that measures are taken to regulate and harmonize the global halal certification industry, such as with the creation of one central, global halal certification regulatory agency to oversee, harmonize, and regulate all other halal certifying agencies.